Immunogenetic and clinical aspects of autoimmune hepatitis

Mulder, C.J.J. [Promotor]Bouma, G. [Promotor]Nieuwkerk, C.M.J. van [Copromotor

Nonpropagation of tachyon on the BTZ black hole in type 0B string theory

We obtain the BTZ black hole (AdS$_3 \times$S$^3$) as a non-dilatonic solution from type 0B string theory. Analyzing the perturbation around this black hole background, we show that the tachyon is not a propagating mode.Comment: some detailed explanations are added, modified version will be appeared in Physics Letters B, 11 pages in RevTeX, no figure

A Case of Autoimmune Hepatitis and Bisphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic inflammatory liver disease of unknown aetiology usually requiring long-term immunosuppressive therapy. We present the case of an AIH patient who received long-term corticosteroids and azathioprine. As treatment for concomitant osteoporosis she was also treated with potent intravenous bisphosphonate (BP). This treatment was complicated by the development of BP-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ). BRONJ is an uncommon complication of BP treatment regimes that occurs at increased frequency in the presence of other risk factors, including chronic inflammatory conditions. Our patient suffered from a severe and complicated clinical course of BRONJ which, despite adequate therapy, resulted in death of the patient. Here we discuss the risk factors for the development and clinical course of BRONJ in AIH and the implications for management of these patients

Global differences in the management of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: no international standard of care

BackgroundDespite being the leading cause of mortality from bloodstream infections worldwide, little is known about regional variation in treatment practices for Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB). The aim of this study was to identify global variation in management, diagnostics, and definitions of SAB.MethodsDuring a 20-day period in 2022, physicians throughout the world were surveyed on SAB treatment practices. The survey was distributed through listservs, e-mails, and social media.ResultsIn total, 2031 physicians from 71 different countries on 6 continents (North America [701, 35%], Europe [573, 28%], Asia [409, 20%], Oceania [182, 9%], South America [124, 6%], and Africa [42, 2%]) completed the survey. Management-based responses differed significantly by continent for preferred treatment of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) bacteremia, use of adjunctive rifampin for prosthetic material infection, and use of oral antibiotics (P P –4 days of positive blood cultures, responses ranged from 2 days in 31% of European respondents to 7 days in 38% of Asian respondents (P ConclusionsLarge practice variations for SAB exist throughout the world, reflecting the paucity of high-quality data and the absence of an international standard of care for the management of SAB.Immunogenetics and cellular immunology of bacterial infectious disease

dS-Holographic C-Functions with a Topological, Dilatonic Twist

Recently, the holographic aspects of asymptotically de Sitter spacetimes have generated substantial literary interest. The plot continues in this paper, as we investigate a certain class of dilatonically deformed ``topological'' de Sitter solutions (which were introduced in hep-th/0110234). Although such solutions possess a detrimental cosmological singularity, their interpretation from a holographic perspective remains somewhat unclear. The current focus is on the associated generalized $C$-functions, which are shown to maintain their usual monotonicity properties in spite of this exotic framework. These findings suggest that such topological solutions may still play a role in our understanding of quantum gravity with a positive cosmological constant.Comment: Latex, 30 pages; reference added and minor changes to tex

Tomato: a crop species amenable to improvement by cellular and molecular methods

Tomato is a crop plant with a relatively small DNA content per haploid genome and a well developed genetics. Plant regeneration from explants and protoplasts is feasable which led to the development of efficient transformation procedures. In view of the current data, the isolation of useful mutants at the cellular level probably will be of limited value in the genetic improvement of tomato. Protoplast fusion may lead to novel combinations of organelle and nuclear DNA (cybrids), whereas this technique also provides a means of introducing genetic information from alien species into tomato. Important developments have come from molecular approaches. Following the construction of an RFLP map, these RFLP markers can be used in tomato to tag quantitative traits bred in from related species. Both RFLP's and transposons are in the process of being used to clone desired genes for which no gene products are known. Cloned genes can be introduced and potentially improve specific properties of tomato especially those controlled by single genes. Recent results suggest that, in principle, phenotypic mutants can be created for cloned and characterized genes and will prove their value in further improving the cultivated tomato.

A Comment or two on Holographic Dark Energy

It has, quite recently, become fashionable to study a certain class of holographic-inspired models for the dark energy. These investigations have, indeed, managed to make some significant advances towards explaining the empirical data. Nonetheless, surprisingly little thought has been given to conceptual issues such as the composition and the very nature of the implicated energy source. In the current discourse, we attempt to fill this gap by the way of some speculative yet logically self-consistent arguments. Our construction takes us along a path that begins with an entanglement entropy and ends up at a Hubble-sized gas of exotic particles. Moreover, our interpretation of the dark energy turns out to be suggestive of a natural resolution to the cosmic-coincidence problem.Comment: 18 pages; (v2) an oversight in Section 2.1 is rectified and a few citations adde

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters